Syphax

Syphax (died 203 BC) was the King of the Masaesyli from 218 to 203 BC, preceding Vermina. The city of Sfax in Tunisia is named for him.

Biography
Syphax was born in Sitifi, Numidia to the Berber Masaesyli people, and he became king of the Masaesyli at the time of the Second Punic War. He was initially sympathetic to the Roman Republic, concluding an alliance with the Romans in 213 BC. Syphax conquered large parts of the pro-Carthage Massyli kingdom in eastern Numidia with Roman support, but the new Massylian king Masinissa, Syphax's rival, allied with Rome, and the Carthaginian general Hasdrubal Gisco, seeking a new ally, allied with Syphax after offering his daughter Sophonisba in marriage to Syphax. In 203 BC, Hasdrubal and Syphax's armies fought against the invading Romans at the Battle of the Great Plains, but their armies were defeated, and Syphax was captured at the Battle of Cirta. Syphax was delivered to Scipio Africanus and taken as a prisoner, dying in Tibur (now Tivoli, Italy) in 203 BC.